Am I there yet?

By Gayle Carline

By the time you read this, I will either be on the road to Sacramento or running amok through my house, attempting to get on the road to Sacramento. Either way, I'm going to Left Coast Crime, where I will get to see people I've met and meet people I've seen.

It's a strange kind of gathering, for me, in that I'm used to writers' conferences, where I know I'm there to learn something. LCC is a convention for mystery fans, so I guess I'm there to introduce myself to potential readers, as well as be a fan myself and meet other mystery authors.

I just hope the correct version of me shows up.

I believe in experiencing reincarnation while you're still alive to appreciate it. As a child, I was very shy. I muddled through my school years all right, but by the time I was in my early twenties, I would literally vibrate with nervous shaking if I had to meet new people.

Believe it or not, I chose to leave my home in Illinois and move to California, where I had to meet new people all the time. By now, I had stopped shaking, and had replaced it with a sort of trance, where I watched everything as it happened around me.

Then, I needed an extra flow of temporary income, so in addition to being a engineer by day, I took a job as a waitress at night. Not just any restaurant, but at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, where everyone came for their birthday and servers led the patrons in a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday to You", and then they ran a gigantic bowl of ice cream ("the Zoo") around the room while someone banged a drum and it was a little like going to a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, only louder.

Shy people do not work in that establishment, so I needed to be Someone Else. Thankfully, my Inner Diva appeared. I delighted in singing "Happy Birthday." I loved awarding the ribbons for eating an entire Pig's Trough (2 banana splits). I even wore a grass skirt and lei while I served the Hot Fudge Volcano. The Diva enjoyed many years in the spotlight, before going into semi-retirement.

Mostly, she and the shy girl have been replaced with a more relaxed, more confident, yet still goofy woman who can look people in the eye and shake their hand.

Even though I'm that woman now, I know, when I get to Sacramento and approach the convention gathering, there will be a moment when my shyness says, "Oh, no, there are so many strangers. Let's go home." The Diva will tell her, "Shut up. They can't start the party til I get there."

And as long as I can navigate between those two, I'll be able to walk through the door.

Does anyone else have multiple personalities, or is it just us me?

**OH OH OH I NEARLY FORGOT!

Because I'm looking forward to such a grand and glorious time at LCC, I'm offering two one-day Kindle e-specials on my mysteries, HIT OR MISSUS, and CLEAN SWEEP (short story). CLEAN SWEEP is free today, March 29th. HIT OR MISSUS will be free on Saturday, March 31st. Get them while they're hot!